Li Xue smiled and said:
"Brother Zhao, I'm completely recovered. I can eat and sleep well. Bring out whatever good food you have here. It's been a while since I've had your chef's cooking."
Master Qin stood to the side, unable to get a word in edgewise, but he seemed to have discerned something from Li Xue's eyes, so he made an excuse to leave.
"Alright, the kitchen is preparing food. Princess, please just tell me what you'd like to eat, and I'll have the chef make it for you right now."
"But the things I want to eat, you may not have them here."
"That's hard to say. Princess, tell me, maybe I really do have it."
"I want to eat water chestnuts, the really big kind. Do you have any, Brother Zhao?"
Zhao Xian quickly guessed why Li Xue suddenly wanted to eat water chestnuts.
He had previously told Li Guang that he planned to plant a type of water chestnut in the lake. This variety was much larger than the local water chestnuts, and it tasted good whether eaten raw or cooked.
Li Guang likely mentioned this water chestnut to Li Xue, indicating that they intended to plant it in the lake, not to eat it.
Thinking of this, Zhao Xian spoke up:
“Princess, you are really lucky today. A few days ago, I bought a lot of water chestnut seeds, which I planned to plant in the lake.”
These seeds are all piled up in the warehouse. I can take some out and have the chef prepare a delicious dish for the princess to try.
"But if I eat the water chestnuts used to make seeds, won't there be fewer seeds?"
"It's alright. We bought a lot of water chestnut seeds this time. Eating some won't affect the planting at all."
"That's great! Then let's cook some water chestnuts for lunch. I want to have a good taste."
"That's settled then. I'll go make the arrangements." Zhao Xian said and left for the workshop's warehouse.
Zhao Xian was worried that if Li Xue followed him, he wouldn't be able to buy water chestnuts from the system.
In a warehouse in the workshop, Zhao Xian purchased a large number of water chestnut seeds through the system, intending to plant them in the lake soon.
Then he bought some water chestnut kernels that could be used for cooking, intending to have the chef prepare a dish.
Soon it was lunchtime, and Li Xue immediately spotted the steaming plate of water chestnut kernels. These water chestnut kernels were huge, completely exceeding her expectations. She wondered what they would taste like.
Wild water chestnuts grow in the wild rivers and ditches in the village. These water chestnuts are a bit small, and the village children like to pick them and eat them as snacks.
Because wild water chestnuts are too small, the villagers don't pay much attention to them. However, they are more interested in water chestnut vegetables, which they can pick and take home to cook.
The others had never seen such large water chestnut kernels before, and they were very curious, so they all picked up their chopsticks and began to taste them.
Water chestnut rice tastes different from sweet potatoes and potatoes. It has a thick texture and a unique flavor, which is popular with everyone. The plate of water chestnut rice was quickly emptied.
Seeing that everyone seemed to enjoy eating water chestnut rice, Zhao Xian spoke up:
"Some time ago, I bought some water chestnut seeds from Southeast Asia, intending to plant them in the lake."
The weather has been very warm these past few days, and it's time to plant water chestnuts. I plan to use these next two days to plant them.
In the summer, we can harvest a lot of water chestnuts.
Upon hearing this, Li Xue immediately became excited and said:
"I'd like to learn how to plant water chestnuts."
"The water chestnut seeds have already sprouted. Throw them into the water and they will sink into the silt at the bottom of the lake and take root and sprout."
Tomorrow we'll move the water chestnut seeds onto the small boat, and while rowing, we'll scatter the seeds. It'll be very easy to plant the water chestnuts.
No one expected that planting water chestnuts would be so easy, and that they could even go boating on the lake. Everyone started to look forward to it.
Li Xue knew there were several small boats by the lake, but she had never rowed one before. Tomorrow, she would like to experience what it's like to row a boat on the lake.
The next day, Zhao Xian had all the water chestnut seeds moved to the boat by the lake, and then instructed everyone on how to plant them.
Li Guang rowed a small boat, while Zhao Xian sat beside Li Xue, instructing her on how to throw water chestnut seedlings into the lake.
The water chestnut variety that Zhao Xian bought grows very fast. One water chestnut seedling can grow into a large patch in the water, so it cannot be planted too densely.
To prevent duplicate planting, each small boat is responsible for a specific area of the lake.
Li Xue was in charge of the central part of the lake. At this moment, Li Xue was in a good mood. The small boat moved slowly on the water, and Li Xue kept throwing the water chestnuts in her hand into the lake.
The water chestnut seeds thrown into the water have already sprouted and will continue to grow after sinking to the bottom.
Seeing that Li Xue was in a good mood, Li Guang felt much more at ease.
Li Xue came to Shuixian Village this time mainly because the Marquis of Huainan came to propose marriage, which made her feel depressed, so she came here to escape.
Li Guang didn't know what Li Xue thought about his marriage, but he could sense that Li Xue had fallen in love with Zhao Xian. Whenever she was with Zhao Xian, Li Xue's mood would improve.
To be honest, Li Guang really hoped that Li Xue and Zhao Xian could get together.
However, Li Xue is a princess of the current dynasty, of noble status, while Zhao Xian already has a family.
If Li Xue marries Zhao Xian, she will only be a concubine, and even if Li Xue has no such intentions, the Fourth Prince will not agree to it.
As Li Guang was pondering this matter, a group of koi carp swam out from the bottom of the lake, circling the small boat, creating a spectacular scene.
"So many koi, they're so beautiful!" Li Xue exclaimed.
At this moment, the small boat was surrounded by koi carp, swimming happily and very actively in the lake.
“The koi have been growing in the lake for almost two years now, and they’ve grown quite a bit since then,” Zhao Xian said.
While watching the koi swimming in the lake, Li Xue scattered water chestnut seedlings. As soon as the seedlings hit the water, a large number of koi followed the sound.
"Will the koi eat the water chestnut seeds?" Li Xue couldn't help but worry.
"Don't worry, the water chestnut has sharp points on both sides that will prick the koi's mouths, so they can't eat it even if they want to."
“Oh, that’s true. The horns on both sides of the water chestnut are sharp and hard, making it impossible for the koi to bite.” Li Xue was no longer worried and continued planting.
The lake where water chestnuts needed to be planted was quite large, and it took several small boats a whole morning to plant all the water chestnut seeds.
After getting ashore, Li Xue looked at the lake and seemed to see a scene of many people rowing small boats and picking lotus flowers on the lake in the sweltering summer.
Time flies, and more than twenty days have passed in the blink of an eye.
That day, Li Xue sat under the shade of a tree in the courtyard of the farm reading a book. The book was so interesting that Li Xue became completely engrossed in it.
Just then, several people entered the farmyard. Although Li Xue sensed them, her eyes never left the book in her hands.
Li Xue was the only one at the farm; even Xiao Hei and Yu Hong were not around.
The group of people walked silently to Li Xue's side and stopped.
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